CSTU president Kamphinda Banda bids farewell

Civil Servants Trade Union (CSTU) president Elia Kamphinda Banda has expressed his intention to leave his post at the end of his tenure which is 31st December, 2013.

“I am retiring from the civil service voluntarily and in line with current regulations. Government has already accepted that I can retire and my last working day is December 31 this year. This means that even if our CSTU congress is held today, I cannot contest on that basis,” said Kamphinda Banda as quoted by a local daily

CSTU was supposed to hold a congress some few months ago but failed due to financial constraints.

Kamphinda has been at the helm of CSTU for extra two years after the expiry of his contract since the Union could not hold a congress to elect new office bearers.

Kamphinda:Leaving post

He believes as a unionist, he has served civil servants better and done his part during his tenure, pointing out improved conditions of service for government employees among his achievements.

“When I took over [CSTU Presidency], the lowest salary for a civil servant was below K3, 000 but now it’s ten times that. A graduate entry salary was around $175 but today is around $270. Civil servants now know their rights better and can ably defend themselves better than ever,” he said.

Kamphinda has been in the forefront in masterminding the countrywide strikes and protests civil servants held some months ago as a way of enforcing the government to increase the salaries of Civil servants.